• Groundbreaking move prompted by Beijing’s tech crackdown
• Tencent’s WeChat Pay could be used in Alibaba’s marketplaces
China’s two online giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd are considering opening up their services to each other, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
It comes days after China’s antitrust crackdowns on a number of technology companies with overseas listings including Didi Chuxing, Tencent and Alibaba, a move which makes it harder for the firms to maintain the virtual barriers they have built up in recent years.
Read more: Alibaba and Tencent consider opening up ‘walled gardens’
Up until now, for example, customers cannot use Tencent’s payment system to buy items on an Alibaba platform.
Both Alibaba and Tencent are reportedly working on new plans separately to loosen up restrictions including introducing Tencent’s WeChat Pay to Alibaba’s e-commerce marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall, the WSJ report added.
- Reporting by Reuters
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